Pressure-Dependent Magnetic Properties of Quasi-2D Cr₂Si₂Te₆ and Mn₃Si₂Te₆

Journal Article · 22 May 2023 · Journal of Physical Chemistry. C

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c01091 · OSTI ID:1991084

Olmos, Rubyann  ^[1]; Chang, Po-Hao ^[1]; Mishra, Prakash  ^[1]; Zope, Rajendra R. ^[1]; Baruah, Tunna ^[1]; Liu, Yu  ^[2]; Petrovic, Cedomir  ^[2]; Singamaneni, Srinivasa R. ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Texas at El Paso, TX (United States)
2. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.

Recently, pressure has been used to induce structural and magnetic phase transitions in many layered quantum materials whose layers are linked by van der Waals forces. Materials with such weakly held layers allow for relatively easy manipulation of the superexchange mechanism, which can give rise to novel magnetic behavior. Here, using hydrostatic pressure as a disorderless means to manipulate the interlayer coupling, we applied pressure on two quasi-2D sister compounds, namely, Cr₂Si₂Te₆ (CST) and Mn₃Si₂Te₆ (MST), up to ~1 GPa. Magnetic property measurements with the application of pressure revealed that the ferromagnetic transition temperature decreases in CST, while the opposite occurs for the ferrimagnetic MST. In MST, magnetization decreases with the increase in pressure, and such a trend is not clearly observed within the pressure range studied for CST. The overall pressure effect on magnetic characteristics such as exchange couplings and magnetic anisotropy energies is also examined theoretically using density functional theory. Exchange coupling in MST is strongly frustrated, and the first nearest neighbor interaction is the most dominant of the components with the strongest pressure dependence. In CST, the exchange coupling parameters exhibit very little dependence on pressure. This combined experimental and theoretical work has the potential to expand to other relevant quantum materials.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0012704; SC0018331; 1842494; 2105109; 2018067; DMR090071
• OSTI ID: 1991084
• Report Number(s): BNL-224597-2023-JAAM; TRN: US2403992
• Journal Information: Journal of Physical Chemistry. C, Vol. 127, Issue 21; ISSN 1932-7447
• Publisher: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English